


Thunder Festival

by Werecakes



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works, The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Festivals, Gen, Thorin makes a good dad, awesome parenting, baby!Gimli - Freeform, he should be a dad, kid!Fíli, kid!Kíli, learning about the gods, super cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-23
Updated: 2014-03-23
Packaged: 2018-01-16 19:05:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1358527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Werecakes/pseuds/Werecakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kili's a unique child who doesn't understand the concept of gods. The council is getting upset that he had yet to pay the proper respect to Mahal and it's up to Thorin to try to explain things to Kili.</p><p>WARNING!!!<br/>This is super cute! You may need to save this for a glum day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thunder Festival

**Author's Note:**

  * For [constructedmadness (dragonsquill)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonsquill/gifts).



> This is for Dragonsquill and BrandwinsArcher because you guys are awesome with inspiration!

Kili was always a lively creature, curious by nature to the point he didn’t understand holding grudges longer than a week. He watched other people, learned from their mistakes as well as his own even though his impulses still strapped him into the saddle of trouble on more than one occasion. He was the complete opposite of his brother, who was quiet, calm, and mostly knew how to frame someone else for a prank that he had ingeniously executed. Fili learned from his own mistakes and could hold a grudge that was passed down from generation to generation. His temper, though rare, when it flared took on the heat of a forge while Kili’s own anger got past the first few punches in a brawl. Together they pushed and pulled, in a dance of balance making the both of them less impulsive, much more intelligent, and saved Thorin from suffering many headaches. 

The one thing that Thorin did not understand, was how Fili could firmly grasp each and every tale of the gods. He would commit them to memory, love and preach about Mahal’s gifts to the dwarven kin, while Kili seemed to not understand it at all. It frustrated every dwarf at celebrations when Kili would whine about the prayers, or certain things that needed to be done for a ritual on a holiday. Tributes to the gods were questioned, very few of the names were remembered and when asked during lessons about the different gods and their deeds he just replied with silence and an innocent stare. 

“Something needs to be done about him!” One of the elder dwarves barked at a council meeting. It was only a few years since Thorin’s Hall had been finished and dwarves had started to live comfortably in Ered Luin. 

“He’s a child.” Balin put in.

“Child or no, he shows disrespect to the gods. Mahal will be angry with us.” Another sighed. “He is a Longbeard. It may curse the whole of the line of Durin for this.”

“Mahal shielded us with his hammer, what makes you think he would be enraged by a small child?” Another rubbed at his temple. 

“No one can assume how the gods think nor their plans for us.” Balin leaned back in his chair and tapped his finger on the table. “But… it may be wise to see as to why he thinks the way he does. Perhaps he is something different.”

“What do you mean?” Thorin’s eyes glanced up from the table that he had been rather boredly staring at.

“I have heard that men and elves had a breed amongst them that is rare. Where they can see things that others cannot. This breed is said to have the gods talking to them and thus they do not understand our world as they should.”

A chuckle from one of the council members pulled their attention to him. “Well that is ridiculous. Man and Elves are fragile creatures, anything can kill them, so they make up stories for false hope.”

Balin turned away from the dwarf, sighing heavily. He truly disliked many of these people.

“Though you maybe right,” Thorin nodded to the dwarf. “Balin does have his own point. Kili, may just not see the world as he should, and it may just be the will of the gods for him to be unique amongst his people. Now if all is well and done we must get to the subject at hand. The Thunder Festival is coming upon us and we must make preparation for many pilgrimages.” 

The Thunder Festival was something purely dwarven. An homage to Mahal and his great anvil. Banners the color of gems and precious metals were strung up high. Ornaments of the finest jewels were hung up high in the halls and even on ropes outside where they would catch the light of bonfires and twinkle upon high like sparks from a forge. Large drums were pounded upon to mimic thunder while clusters of dwarves played on their instruments. Many danced, sung, and more than Kili had ever seen were coming in with gifts of furs, fine cloth, and exhotic foods would present themselves to the rightful royal family who stood, not upon high but level with everyone else. Kili scratched at his stiff collar, not liking how it made him unable to move his head completely. 

“Stop scratching, you’re ruin your clothes.” Dis said sharply, under her breath before quickly greeting another person.

“I don’t get it. Why do we have to do this?” It was his first Thunder Festival. Before hand he always was in bed before the festivities began.

“Because we’re acting in place of Mahal.” Fili said easily as he grabbed his brother’s hand to keep him from scratching at his neck.

“But why?”

“Because we have to. We’re dwarves, he made us.”

“Mom made us.” Kili huffed. He was young but it was common for dwarves to start teaching their children about sex and where babies came from soon as they started formal lessons of reading and writing. This was done so they would be well prepared for when puberty came. While other races found themselves struggling with confused adolescence dwarves did not.

“Yes, but Mahal made us before that so we could be placed in her belly.”

“How can you be made before you’re made?”

Fili took in a breath to answer but he found he didn’t have one. He understood it, the concept of it, but he didn’t know how to put it into words.

“Uncle Thorin?” Kili pulled his hand free of Fili’s in favor of moving over to grab a few of Thorin’s thick fingers.

He looked down at the boy when he was done talking to a dwarf that had traveled all the way from the Grey Mountains. Kili gave a pull to his fingers. “How can you be made before you’re made?”

Thorin blinked several times, tilting his head as he tried to understand the question. He glanced up at Dis who looked just as confused as she had not overheard any part of Fili and Kili’s conversation.

“Fili says Mahal made us before Mom and Dad did, but you can’t be made before you’re made, because then it means Mom and Dad are not Mom and Dad but Mahal is Dad and I have no Mom and I like my Mom.”

The king smiled softly. He reached down, hands going over Kili’s sides as he easily picked up the small boy. “Dis, I believe now is a good time to have a word with your son.”

She nodded. “Don’t have him out too late Thorin, Fili and him need to go to bed soon as the tributes are taken care of.”

“What are the tributes for? Fili said they are for Mahal and he’s not here so we have to do it, but why?” 

Thorin settled Kili on his hip as he walked. He patted Fili on the head, leaning down and whispering to the blond. “Make sure your mother does a good job.”

Fili nodded quickly, his little chest puffing up with pride that he was trusted to be the man in charge in Thorin’s absence. 

Thorin didn’t say much as Kili belted out question after question. He made his way outside the great hall where the youth stopped talking to take in the large amount of laughter and music. Everything was warm and seemed to glow with individual light from the bonfires and ornaments. The thunderous boom of the drums were intimidating, his arms finding their way around his uncle’s neck.

“I’ll answer you one question at a time, my little raven.” Thorin held onto Kili firmly with one arm, his other sweeping out to the people. “The tributes are for all of them.”

“But Fili said they were for Mahal.”

“They are, but in a different way.”

Kili’s little face scrunched up in confusion. It didn’t make sense.

“Mahal made us, yes, but so did our parents.” Thorin was walking around so Kili could take in all the sights. “You see, your mom and dad made your body. They made your hair, and skin, your bones.”

“My bones?” Kili squeaked, sounding spooked.

Thorin nodded, “You’re bones, nice strong bones!” He took his free hand and tickled Kili’s ribs earning little kicks against his stomach and back as the boy laughed. He let up to push his hand over Kili’s heart, “But Mahal made what’s deep, deep inside you. He made your core, your soul. He made your laugh, your voice, your curiosity, and your intelligence. He made everything besides your body.”

Kili hummed, still not understanding it all.

“You see Kili, without your soul you would be empty. You wouldn’t feel anything. Mahal made your anger, your sorrow, but he also made your love. Then when your mother and father made you, he put all of that inside… like…” He looked around realizing he was not making the boy understand. Something caught his eye, he hurried over to a table laden with food. He picked up a dessert pastry that he knew had cream filling. “You see this pastry?”

“Yes.”

“It is just a pastry, nothing special. Right?”

“Right!”

“Wrong.” Thorin put Kili down onto the ground. He squatted down, and pulled the pastry in half showing the cream. “See inside? It was made by one person, but the pastry was made by another. They put them together to make this. Like Mahal, your mother and your father worked together to make you.”

He could see understanding dawn on Kili’s face. He handed half of the treat to his nephew, sitting on the grass next to the table as he started to eat his own. Kili sloppily ate, like any child. His clothing only saved because Thorin would reach over and wipe at his chin before anything get on the rest of him.

“Mom says she needs nothing else because she had Fili and me,” Kili smacked his lips while looking around. “Why does Mahal need things?”

“He doesn’t.” Thorin found a handkerchief in one of his pockets that he used to wipe at Kili’s face. “All of the tributes we get, are gifts to him, like a birthday present. But he doesn’t like to keep the presents, he rather see us happy, so we take everything given to us, divide it evenly and everyone here gets to take something home. Things they need, like food, clothes, furs.”

“So… all of this is a birthday party?”

“Yes.”

“And the tributes are gifts.”

“Yes.”

“That we give away like… um..” He went to scratch his head with a sticky hand, Thorin snatched it and started to wipe at the grimy digits. “Those… furry footed people Balin is teaching us about.”

“A hobbit.”

“Yeah! A hobbit, they give away presents instead of keeping them.” Then his eyes grew wide. “Is Mahal a hobbit?”

“I think his wife, Yavanna is one. And he does this to make her happy, like how you will give Fili your dessert because you want to see him happy.”

To Kili, all of this was starting to make sense, except one part.

“... Uncle Thorin?”

“Hm?”

“If Mahal made me, and Mom and Dad made me… does that make Mahal my grandpa?”

“In a sense, I suppose.”

Suddenly a roll of thunder went over their heads. Thorin stood up, dusting himself off, looking up at the sky. “Looks like the thunderstorm is coming this year, after all.”

A crisp flash of lightning cracked across the sky. Several seconds later thunder beat in the sky. Thorin bent down and picked up Kili as the crowd started to hoot and holler in celebration. Thorin pointed at the sky when another strike of lightning flashed. “See that? He’s making another dwarf. That’s Mahal working on his anvil.”

Kili bounced excitedly on Thorin’s hip. Thorin smiled, “I think he can see us. Let’s say hello.” He waved a little at the sky.

Kili leaned heavily back against the arm holding him up so he could wave with both hands. “Hi grandpa!! HI GRANDPA!!!”

There was a flicker of lightning followed quickly by a clap of thunder.

“I think he hears you.” 

Kili squealed, “Make Gimli a good one!!” 

Thorin looked to his nephew in surprise. There was a rolling thunder that built up into a crescendo. Kili sighed happily, wrapping his arms around Thorin’s neck, before yawning. 

Thorin took his nephew back inside the mountain, collecting Fili who was just as tired. Fili held Thorin’s hand and rubbed at his eye as he was being taken back to the room he shared with his brother. “You did a very good job today, Fili. Mahal is proud of you. I’m proud of you.”

The little boy smiled and pushed his head against Thorin’s wrist as they walked. It was not lost on the King how easily Fili shouldered the burden of ruling. He fitted into the role better than Thorin did and he was still a child. No one else could do that, only the golden prince.

 

It was a few years later that he got word of a new addition to his extended family. The babe brought in by Gloin and his wife to show off the pudgy baby.

“Look at those whiskers.” Dis cooed over the newborn. “He’s going to have a good beard, this one. Like his father and mother.”

Gloin’s wife smiled brightly, “He’s already taken a liking to metal, and only a few weeks old.”

“Signs of a mighty warrior.” Thorin said approvingly as he patted Gloin on the back. “Fili did the same. What’s the lad’s name?”

“Gimli.” Gloin’s chest swelled with pride.

“Gim…” The king looked over to where he saw the two boys after his own heart trying to hide behind a pillar. He looked at Kili in particular. A unique boy, all of his own, balanced out by his brother. He was a rare breed. 

He held out his hand to them, “Come, meet your relation, lads.”

Fili and Kili came running in, excited to see the baby. Two mothers watched over the three boys as Fili and Kili asked question after question about baby Gimli. 

Thorin smiled a little. All three of the children were a unique breed, something the world had never seen before and it made him infinitely proud.


End file.
